


Reprieve

by MintAqua



Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode 6, Pre-Relationship, Spoilers for s4e6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 20:37:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8815504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintAqua/pseuds/MintAqua
Summary: Ren needs space. Nora understands.A brief look into their dynamic.





	

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS! This takes place after the most recent FIRST-member-only episode of RWBY. At least two major details from the episode are discussed/mentioned in this fic. Please turn back if you want to avoid seeing them.

They’ve been together long enough for Nora to know when to stay silent, which Ren is grateful for. Not just the silence, but the knowledge that Nora knows him well enough to leave him be, even if she’s frowning and tight-lipped like she wants to say something but can’t.

Maybe, he thinks, it’s less that she knows not to say anything, and more that she doesn’t know what to say. Years and years ago, when they were both angrier and lonelier and far more socially inept, Nora filled up these silences with a strained version of her usual cheer. It had grated on his nerves in more ways than one; it felt patronizing, false, as if he was a grumpy child. His resistance to her chipperness would then prompt her to become even more aggressive, until finally they would explode at each other and Nora would put him in a headlock until he passed out.

Over time, Nora stopped herself in the middle of desperate attempts to fill the strained silence. Eventually, she even took to clamping her mouth shut and leaving the room altogether, perhaps not trusting herself not to burst out and shake him until he magically felt better. It’s impossible to do that now, when they’re on the road and just a couple steps away from each other at all times, but she does give him ample space and only occasionally looks over her shoulder to stare at him with a more subdued, somber version of her puppydog eyes. Nothing about it feels like the prying eyes of their old peers, however; every longing look feels instead like understanding. That’s another thing he’s always been drawn to: the part of her that knows the emotional heft of what he’s been through, even if she doesn’t know the details.

They make camp not far from Oniyuri. Ren can still see it sitting far off in the distance, a dark, amorphous speck on the horizon. He can feel his team staring at him as he squints at it carefully, but Ruby is pulled away from the campfire by her uncle to discuss something important and Jaune is quickly sent away to collect more firewood by Nora. Nora, meanwhile, sets to work on putting together some food, which immediately prompts Ren to help out, because he’d rather not have to eat charcoal for dinner to top off this subpar day.

It’s not until the campfire’s out and they’re all tucked into their bedrolls that Nora actually says anything to him that isn’t strictly food related, and even then, all she says “Ren” in a low whisper. He manages to stifle a sigh and rolls onto his side to face Nora’s folded lips and intense stare.

“Ren,” she repeats, hesitant and a bit frustrated with herself.

“Yes, Nora?” he replies.

Nora’s lips tighten again. The wrinkle between her eyebrows is incredibly endearing. She manages a few syllables out--the utterance of an “I,” the beginnings of a “we”--before finally shaking her head and letting her mouth fall shut again. Somehow, the sight of her frustration calms him a little.

“What is it?” he asks, soothing. Her face scrunches up even more. “Come on.”

Her lips tremble with the effort not to say anything, until finally she takes a deep breath and seems to come to a decision. The small smile that had been developing on Ren’s face drops in abrupt shock and puzzlement as Nora sticks out a hand between them. The intensity of her gaze returns all at once, compounded by her set jaw and stern look of determination.

They used to do this on occasion, back in the orphanage when every night threatened to be their last one together. The logic had been that they couldn’t separate them if they never let go, even in their sleep. The tradition only lasted their first few years together, unable to survive past puberty and the onslaught of hormones. It didn’t even make a reappearance when they arrived at Beacon, although Ren had certainly thought about it as he lay awake worrying about the rift that might come between them if they ended up on different teams.

Ren hadn’t thought much about it otherwise, and he had assumed it was the same for Nora. The way she looks at him now, though, makes him feel like it’s important.

His arm aches a little as he pulls it out of his bedroll and stretches out to meet her. Her hand is warm, strong, something alive like electricity pulsing through her and into him. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until now; hadn’t realized how much he missed feeling taken care of by her.

He remembers being afraid of her strength, the first time he met her. People who had her kind of brute, careless strength often misused it. He remembers being scared that she might break his hand whenever they fell asleep like this together. He remembers waking up every time feeling warm, safe. Loved.

“Thank you,” he says now, squeezing her hand tightly. He watches the intensity in her face smooth out into relief, though some concern still lingers somewhere in her smile. He doesn’t fall asleep until Nora does, her face going all soft and slack.

They’ve been together long enough for Ren to know that this is just the way Nora loves everyone--wholehearted and overwhelming--but, as always, he is grateful. For this. For her.


End file.
